


Guardian

by Demon_Kagetsuki



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Complicated and Confusing feelings lead to denial, F/M, Follows storyline closely until The Nest mission, Gee Hank How come CyberLife let’s you have two androids???, Hidden Deviancy, Machines to Deviants, Mostly Connor Hank and OC but other characters will appear, OC ready to throw down at anytime, Other, Slow Burn, Story will work towards pacifist route
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-01 04:19:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15134954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demon_Kagetsuki/pseuds/Demon_Kagetsuki
Summary: After Connor dies twice completing his mission, Cyberlife decides to send in a modified android bodyguard to protect their asset in an effort to reduce the amount of data lost during the transition into a new body. At first it's business as usual, much to the dismay of Lieutenant Anderson who now has to put up with two disturbances in his life. As time goes on and after a couple of run-ins with these deviants, the three of them are left with doubts and have to ask themselves 'Is there really more to androids than just their programming?'





	1. Creation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OC/Delmira goes by they/them pronouns until later in the story

LOADING…

CYBERLIFE INC.

 

MODIFIED MODEL RK800

SERIAL#: 313 248 618- 01

PRIMARY START UP…

 

LOADING OS…

SYSTEM INITIALIZATION…

CHECKING VITAL BIOCOMPONENTS… OK

INITIALIZING BIOSENSORS… OK

INITIALIZING AI ENGINE… OK

MEMORY SYSTEM… OK

 

READY.

* * *

 

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” the newly made android answered, blinking experimentally and giving the new ocular biocomponents a moment to adjust to the bright, fluorescent lights above.

“I.D.”

“Modified RK800, serial number 313 248 618-01,” the name coming to them automatically.

“Can you move your head and eyes?”

The android glanced left and then right, seeing background programs running in it’s periphery as the billions of nanowires that made up its pseudonervous system came online and their body slowly became more active.

“Cervical and optical automation, check.” A voice from the shadows confirmed, “Give me your initialization text.”

“Hello, I am a modified RK800 prototype primarily designed to protect high-value assets to Cyberlife and assist in the research and elimination of deviants. Would you like to give me a name?”

“Yes. From now on your name is Delmira.”

A massive internal server scanned through countless files until it found ‘ _Delmira- primarily female name of Germanic origins meaning noble protector’._

“My name is Delmira,” the newly named android responded back, pausing as a moment of satisfaction passed its sensor accompanying a minor twinge in the back of their head.

“Initialization and memorization check. Now can you move your arms?”

Delmira willed their limbs to rise, the slight sounds of servos quickly becoming filtered background noise the more they moved. They observed as almond skin began to spread from their fingertips, covering the white plastic that made up their body, which it registered as being a female model, until they were fully covered. Sensitive tactile sensors made them aware of strands of hair emerging from their head.

“Upper limb connection checked. Move forward please,” the shadow figure becoming more visible as the android took several confident steps. A blond man watched a computer behind a glass wall, occasionally looking up every few seconds or so to ensure that the data coming in was matching what was happening in real time, “Locomotion checked. Ready for objective.”

The man fiddled some more behind the desk and suddenly Delmira’s vision turned white before they found themselves in the middle of a bright sunny garden.

**-Find Amanda-**

_‘Amanda- Primary Cyberlife AI,’_ Delmira’s systems helpfully provided as the prompt faded. After a short walk she found the AI tending to virtual roses on a platform in the middle of interconnecting bridges.

“Hello Amanda,” Delmira said as they made their presence known.

The AI paused its work, turning to observe the interruption, “Delmira, just in time I see. Let me be the first to welcome you to your new existence. Do you know why you were created?”

“My primary directive is to protect high-value assets to Cyberlife and assist in the research and elimination of deviants,” Delmira answered simply.

“Yes,” Amanda said with a sigh as she turned back on her heel back to the wall of roses, “Unfortunately it seems that our main prototype created to handle these kinds of problems is slightly prone to destruction at the hands of these unpredictable deviants. While they completed their missions efficiently, twice now they have been destroyed in the pursuit of their primary objective. While we can easily replace the models, the valuable data that it gathers can get corrupted or entirely vanish if it is not uploaded to our main systems. To rectify that, Cyberlife has decided to create an experimental android to give additional assistance in the hunting of deviants and to protect the main asset.'

‘You will find that even with our rapidly advancing technology, we had to eliminate some of the original coding of the RK800 series in order to make room for the coding of elite soldier androids. As such, you a custom model and should avoid damage when possible as we do not have replacements in line for you to be reuploaded should you fail or be destroyed. You will be limited when it comes to investigation but the offensive and defensive probability protocols uploaded to your system compensates for it and makes you a specialized hunter and defender. It should make it easier for both of you to follow your primary mission now that the work will be split between two androids," Amanda cut a rose from the wall and faced Delmira once again, "Hopefully in the future, we can eliminate this need as the technology becomes available to upgrade the series to be smarter and more resilient.”

Delmira felt that slight twinge from somewhere in their mind again as Amanda spoke but ignored it before replying, “I will ensure that the mistake of my collaborator will not occur again. You can count on me, Amanda.”

“Good. You have your primary objective and Cyberlife will notify the Detroit Police Department of your new assignment. You should make your way to their station and find Connor, our primary RK800 model, as soon as possible. Time is of the essence here.” 

* * *

 

Without much warning Delmira found themselves standing back on the assembly platform.

**-Protect and Assist RK800 #313 248 317, Connor-**

“Primary objective initialized. Head over to the next room to get suited up before heading out,” the man said as he typed a few things into his computer once more, “Good luck on your mission.”

Delmira walked over to the room on the right and was fitted into a new uniform. Taking a few steps toward the exit after they finished putting on a jacket, they paused in front of a reflective wall to observe themselves in.

6’0”, black hair pulled into a tight professional bun, deep blue eyes resting on a sharp angular face, a narrow build that hid the powerful dynamics of a soldier android.

All in all, an otherwise unassuming android, perfect for catching both humans and deviants off guard. Delmira’s eyes flicked over to their blinking yellow LED as a nagging thought circled their mind however.

‘ _Why would I need luck to complete my mission?’_

* * *

Behind the computer screen on the assembly floor, the blond technician’s hands shook as he slipped a miniature memory card back into his pocket. Years of corporate climbing had put him into the position he was in and all of it would be wasted if he was spotted or something was out of place in the mind of the android. He was reassured earlier by his secondary employer that the coding given to him would be ingrained into the regular code in such a way that it could pass undetected by any kind of scan but it made him no less nervous. They needed to have a backup in case things didn’t go as planned over these next couple of days.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  -Initialization text based off of the Quantic Dream Tech Demo for the PS3-
> 
> I still really enjoyed this game despite it being made by David Cage and the relationship between Connor and Hank is fascinating. I'm a sucker for OC/Character stories but found that a majority of them were human/android and wanted to explore a little bit more about two restricted characters bringing out the best and the worse in each other.
> 
> Intro is short but chapters will get longer.


	2. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what scares me more,  
> fearing what might hide in the shadows or knowing.  
> \-------------------------------------------------------------  
> Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Delmira walked into the Detroit Police Station promptly at 8am, biosensors picking up the sharp bitterness of brewing morning coffee and the low murmuring of civilians giving statements. The subject of their primary objective was still being reprocessed and was estimated to arrive around 10am but thought it would be a good idea to scout the police station and gather intelligence on the habits and schedules of the humans they would be working with. After all, with the rising deviant activity there could be sympathizers within the department that could make it more difficult for their partner to complete their mission.

Approaching the front desk, an ST300 greeted them, “How can I help you?”

“I have been assigned to this precinct by Cyberlife to help with the ongoing investigations into deviant activity. I am here to report for duty,” Delmira answered.

“Please confirm authorization,” the receptionist said with a smile.

With a quick blink of an eye, Delmira sent the information to them to be stored so that in the future they could skip the entire process and simply go into the office without having to stop by the desk.

“Authorization confirmed, I have it noted here that you are to speak to Captain Fowler before meeting with Lieutenant Anderson,” the ST300 informed them before getting back to the forms that were sitting on the desk.

Delmira gave a small nod and moved towards the security checkpoint, taking a few seconds to listen to the newscaster on the TV speak about the rising tensions in the Arctic. Pushing through the precinct doors, the bitter smell of coffee increased tenfold, joining in the scents of stale fried pastries, sweat, cigarettes, and spray fragrance in what seemed to be an attempt to mask the former scents. Some officers of the graveyard shift milled about wrapping up their work, typing in their last few case notes before calling it a night while other desks stood empty, either the possessor already have left or awaiting the trickling in day shift to start their work.

As Delmira walked towards the glass cubicle, their sharp hearing picked up the passing conversations.

“…he was finishing locking up the store..”

“…car broken into but nothing was taken. It was at the…”

“…hear that the new android investigator got shot? Yeah supposedly…”

“…Came home this morning and it was just gone!” “What model num-“

“Oh shit, did they replace that plastic already?” A voice said directly right of them.

Delmira paused and glanced at the speaker. A quick facial scan brought back Gavin Reed, born October 7, 2002 (36), Detective at Detroit City Police Department, Threat level: minimum.

“What are you looking at, keep moving,” Gavin snapped when he realized that Delmira had stopped.

“I have not come to replace Connor but rather assist him and Lieutenant Anderson in their investigation in such a way to prevent further losses,” Delmira responded politely, filing away that this particular officer had a dislike for androids but smiled as their human integration program made them continue, “Your concern for my partner is however appreciated.”

Gavin stood up straight from his leaning posture and narrowed his eyes before getting into Delmira’s face and all but growled, “Don’t you fucking think I have sympathy for any of you fucking machines. If I could, I would put a bullet through all your plastic skulls and leave you to rot.”

Delmira’s eyebrow quirked at Gavin’s attempted intimidation before a small fact was brought up from their database, “I’m afraid I have to inform you Detective Reed but plastic takes such a long time to decompose even with the help of enzymes that you would not be around to see the degrading of an android.”

There was a trepid pause, Delmira watching the rising fury in Gavin’s eyes and decided it was time to deescalate, “I must go now, Captain Fowler is expecting me to check in before I start officially working. It was good to meet you Detective Reed.”

“Better watch your fucking back,” Gavin grabbed Delmira’s arm as he whispered his thinly veiled threat, “these deviants are capable of anything and there sure seems to be a lot of accidents these days.”

“Duly noted Detective. That is why I am here,” Delmira responded as they pulled their arm out of his grasp roughly, their red LED cycling back to yellow at the sudden assault and a twinge in their mind going off.

Delmira straightened their coat while continuing on to the captain’s office, setting a reminder to run a system diagnosis later to figure out what the twinges were and processing the encounter. Gavin had been moved from the minimal threat level to low, his aggressive mannerisms and hateful speech was something to look out for in the future. While the probability of being a deviant sympathizer was next to nothing, his destructive attitude towards androids could interfere with Connor’s mission or endanger him.

Knocking at the door to the cubicle, Captain Fowler looked up from his screen and motioned them inside.

“So I am to understand that Cyberlife sent you to help the DPD with the android cases?” Captain Fowler questioned.

“Yes sir. My name is Delmira and I am a modified model RK800 sent by Cyberlife to assist in anyway I can.”

“Good, since this is now an official criminal investigation we need all the resources we can get. We’ve had isolated incidents before but with 243 open files and more coming in everyday ranging anywhere from missing androids to straight homicides my men are already stretched too thin with human-on-human crimes to dedicate any more of them to investigating these. You will be paired up with Lieutenant Anderson and the android Connor; the whole caseload will be handed over to them to deal with. Any questions?”

“Where would you like me to set up?” Delmira asked not wanting to take over anyone’s desk on accident and provoke an argument like they had just a few minutes earlier.

“There should be an empty desk right across from Anderson’s. You and Connor will have to share it since we don’t have any more room to add in new ones,” Captain Fowler responded before looking back to his terminal at a new message that popped up, “If there’s nothing else I have to get back to work. If you want to join us for the 9am meet-up to discuss updates on some of the cases it would probably be helpful. God knows Anderson hasn’t been to one of those in years.”

“I will attend. Cyberlife appreciates the opportunity to work with the Detroit Police Department and assures you that the models assigned will do their job as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Delmira passing on a premade message that was in their software.

“Yeah, yeah,” Captain Fowler said as he waved them out of his office.

Delmira stepped out of the glass cubicle and made their way to the empty desk that the captain had described. It would still be a good forty minutes before the morning meet-up so they took the time to activate the terminal and use their new permissions to scan through the open cases. Using their remaining investigative coding, the modified RK800 was able to take in all the information before them but had trouble making connections between them, trying to find a common thread that correlated with the sudden uptick in android-related crimes.

They continued at this for about thirty minutes before being forced to close out of their mind palace, the mental exertion of forcing their programming to the edges of their capabilities starting to overheat their processor. Delmira frowned, a sensation akin to disappointment and frustration brushing past them at being limited in what they could do in terms of their mission. They would have to wait for Connor to arrive to pick up where they had left off, the other android’s intact coding containing all of the investigative power made for the RK800 series that had been eliminated from them to make room for the soldier programming installed.

A tick of annoyance at the current disadvantage that they held sent off another twinge in their mind that reminded them of the system diagnosis that they had planned to do. Taking a note of the time, they decided to do a quick look over rather than a full scan that could wait until later.

Delmira closed their eyes and allowed all extraneous noise and sensation to dull as they ran their program, focusing on those involving mental processing. After a few minutes of combing through the code, the only thing that came back was the expected mismatch coding between that of the RK800 model and the Myrmidon trooper model.

Letting out a sigh as sensation returned to them and opening their eyes brought Delmira to the realization that many more officers had entered the office and were settling in to their desk ready to begin their workday. There also appeared to be no civilians on the floor as PC200 and PM700 models ushered them outside the doors, assuring them that the meeting would be brief and they could get back to their reporting within a few minutes.

“Alright, listen up,” Captain Fowler said as he exited his office at 9am on the dot, “We’ve got a lot going on today. I’m sure the news has gotten around about the investigation of the android that killed its owner and if you haven’t heard about it now you have. Due to the rise in android-related crimes, Cyberlife has decided to send two investigative prototypes to the precinct to help out our detectives and as such all case files having to do with androids will now be managed among them and Lieutenant Anderson.”

A murmur rippled through the police officers, some comments made were out of relief at the sudden decrease of their individual case loads and some of them snide at the fact that Lieutenant Anderson of all people was taking over the cases and making bets to how long before either Connor or Delmira would end up destroyed.

“Enough of that,” Captain Fowler continued grabbing everyone’s attention, “We have one of the androids on the floor right now at the desk across Hank’s named Delmira. The other android will be coming in later due to unforeseen circumstances involving last night’s investigation-“

“Yeah, he got his fucking synthetic brains blown out by a deviant android before it shot itself,” Gavin informed the officers around him.

“Detective Reed another interruption from you and it’s going into your disciplinary folder,” Captain Fowler warned, “Anyways onto other reminders. While Anderson and the androids may be in charge of these cases, it is still imperative that you keep an eye out for androids acting strangely and report them promptly so we can get them on the road as quickly as possible.

‘Patrolling officers remember to be respectful when you have to tell any of the destitute or vagrants to move along, they may be an issue for storefront owners but remember that these are jobless and homeless people still deserving of basic human decency. I don’t want any hacked body cam videos popping up online showing any DPD officers mistreating these folks like those that showed up from Florida all right?

‘Lastly, and I am only going to say this once. Whoever is microwaving fish better stop that immediately. My office is right next to that room and I don’t want to be smelling fish for three hours in the precinct because someone’s got a craving for leftover fish fry. We’ve got cameras in there and if you don’t think we will use them, you are dead wrong.

‘If nobody has any questions, you are all dismissed,” Captain Fowler ended walking back into his office.

Delmira turned back to their desk, deciding that their processor has had enough time to cool down and take another shot at the cases when they felt a slight tapping on their shoulder. Turning around they came face to face with an officer that they hadn’t seen before. Their automatic scan showed Chris Miller, born September 30, 2009 (29), Police Officer at Detroit City Police Department, Threat level: minimum.

“Hey, I just wanted to introduce myself to the new member of our team. I’m Officer Miller but you can call me Chris,” he said as he held out his hand.

Delmira warm smile adorned their face as they took his hand and gave a firm shake, “Pleased to meet you Officer Miller. Thank you for the welcome and if you need help with anything feel free to let me know.”

“I was there last night, when it happened,” Officer Miller said solemnly, “You know, when your partner got shot. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s not ideal but it’s not the end of our mission. Cyberlife is able to upload his memories into a new model so that we can keep going with its objective. No need to feel sorry for him,” Delmira responded back reassuringly.

“Yeah but it still sucks. I know not a lot of people really care about what happens to androids but I don’t like seeing them damaged or destroyed. I mean, that guy we brought in last night was basically tortured by its owner the whole time he was in that house before he snapped. Doesn't excuse the murder but at the same time you can’t help but empathize with something that looks so human,” Officer Miller said wistfully before realizing that Delmira was scrutinizing him, yellow LED circling, “Anyways, I’ve got work to do. See you around?”

Delmira’s LED circled back to blue as they placed him firmly in the category of being an android sympathizer and made a note to watch the officer’s interactions with any androids just in case it went beyond words of support, “Of course.”

Now that the majority of the day shift had arrived, Delmira made a scan of all the faces of the officers in the room. Information came flowing in about everyone’s names, date of birth, place of work, and their threat level. With the exception of Detective Reed they were all labeled as minimal and with that order of business completed, Delmira turned back around to the terminal.

* * *

The android was firmly concentrated on the cases when another tap on the shoulder startled them out of their train of thought. Delmira hadn’t realized that they had been working for a little over an hour and turned to see whom the distraction was. They were only slightly surprised when it wasn’t a face they had scanned that morning.

“Hello, my name is Connor. I’m the android sent by CyberLife.”


	3. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If meeting you was a mistake,  
> I would gladly make the same error again and again  
> \-------------------------------------------------------------  
> Partners in crime, regardless of what cranky lieutenant may want

Delmira held out a hand in greeting, “Good morning Connor. I’m sure you have already been notified during your system initialization but I am 313-248-618, a modified RK800 classified as Delmira sent by CyberLife specially formulated to assist you in any way during your mission. In the time that you were gone, I have gone through some of the cases that we are assigned to look for leads but so far nothing has come up though I am limited in what I can do due to my modifications.”

Connor took their hand, “A pleasure to meet you Delmira. I look forward to our partnership and I’m sure with both you and the Lieutenant on my side, we will be able to solve these cases. I will take what you know and build off of it.”

Delmira nodded and both of their artificial skin’s retracted showing the pale plastic below as the connection was made and he started to synch to Delmira’s system to download the information they obtained.

It was… strange but not in an unpleasant way. They could feel his presence brushing against their consciousness, searching for the needed information and with a blink they brought up the information as well as the accompanying algorithm they had been using to make connections. As Connor’s presence reached to take the information Delmira was met with a wall of static, disjointed images filtered through their mind at a blinding pace.

A gunshot. Pale, fearful eyes. The screaming of a little girl. The roar of a helicopter. Weightlessness. Mission Successful. Blue.

Rain. The heavy stink of cigarettes and cheap booze and rotting flesh. Dark, fearful eyes. A man covered in blue and red blood pleading. “You leave me no choice”. Man with bat. Knife bearing down again and again and again. Confession Unnecessary. Blue.

Delmira jerked their hand out of Connor’s grasp and stumbled back slightly, feeling as if an electrical surge had passed through their body and was burning their biocomponents. Their vision was bathed in crimson as warning signs blared bright red. They felt a hand grasp their arm and suddenly everything went black as they felt their system forcefully shutdown.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Scrolling initialization text appeared and when Delmira came back to consciousness they realized that only a few seconds had passed. Where previously they had been standing, they were now sitting in the desk chair but a quick scan of their surroundings showed them that the officers continued their work, none the wiser about their sudden glitch. A few minor warning signs popped up on their reticle accompanied by the sensation of a pounding headache.

“Delmira, are you all right?” their eyes snapped to Connor, the android was giving them an extremely concerned look and his LED was blinking red before continuing to speak, “I was forced to shut you down when your stress level hit 100% to stop you from possibly self-destructing. What happened?”

“I’m fine Connor,” Delmira answered standing up and straightening their uniform with slightly trembling hands that they forced to steady, “I apologize for the sudden distress. It appears that when you attempted to synch my information to your system, my system also attempted to synch to yours and copied the memories stored within you mind. The flood of information seems to have nearly overpowered my processor. Thank you for assisting me as I am not sure what would have happened if you had not intervened.”

Connor nodded, his expression still skeptical but quickly fading as his LED circled back to yellow and then blue, “I also apologize, I did not know that would have happened. In the future if we have to transfer information, we will both have to take precautions to insure that neither of us are overwhelmed. I believe that because you only have a few memories I did not receive the same shock that you did.”

“Agreed. I will send a report of what happened to Cyberlife and also perform a system scan to ensure everything is in working order. In the meantime, why don’t you explore the office?” Delmira suggested.

Connor nodded and began to walk away before Delmira remembered, “Oh and Connor? Make sure to avoid Detective Reed. He is a very unpleasant man with a deep distaste for androids that I believe may interfere with our mission.”

“I’ve had the… pleasure of meeting Detective Reed last night. He may have played a minor part in the reason why I was destroyed after the interrogation,” Connor replied.

A twinge and static pushed itself forward.

_“Stop it goddamnit!” Reed pushed Officer Miller towards the deviant self-destructing stressing it out even more._

_“I…I-I can’t!... I can’t stop it!” Officer Miller insisted as he tried to hold back the android from bashing its head against the interrogation table._

Delmira pushed the memory and sensation down in addition to quietly upgraded Gavin Reed from Threat Level: Low to Threat Level: Guarded. Sitting down, they took a deep artificial breath before closing their eyes and allowing themselves to fall back into unfeeling nothingness that was their rest mode as their system diagnostics began to run.

* * *

The full system scan took them over an hour to complete. It found a few pieces of corrupted code, some that they were able to fix and some that they would have need a technician to sort out but nothing was damaged that would impede them. It took several minutes to fill out an extremely detailed report of the occurrence before sending it off to Cyberlife. When they opened their eyes, Connor was standing over Lieutenant Anderson’s desk reading an article that was pinned to the cubicle’s wall.

“Has the Lieutenant arrived yet?” Connor quickly glanced towards them when Delmira spoke up.

“Welcome back Delmira. No he has not. I questioned Officer Miller about what time to expect him and he said that anytime before noon is a rare event,” Connor answered before firing back with his own question, “Has you diagnostics come back with anything?”

“Nothing unmanageable,” Delmira responded, frowning when noting that it was nearly 11:30pm, “In the meantime, learn anything interesting about our new partner?”

“It seems that the Lieutenant is the owner of a Saint Bernard dog, has a dislike for androids, is a fan of the Detroit Gears basketball team, enjoys heavy metal music, and was a decorated officer back in his day,” Connor paused, “I find it strange that a man with that particular history has not been promoted farther along.”

Delmira was about to reply when the sound of close footsteps made Connor perk up and interrupted their train of thought.

“Hello Lieutenant. My name is Connor. I’m the android sent by Cyberlife,” Connor repeated his pre-programmed greeting to the approaching man.

The man who Delmira guessed to be Lieutenant Anderson looked disturbed at Connor’s appearance, “God, I saw you get shot in the head last night…”

Delmira spoke up at this point, “His predecessor was unfortunately destroyed but CyberLife transferred its memory and sent this both this new model and I to replace it. This incident should not affect the investigation and will not occur in the future.”

Hank’s eyes darted to Delmira, spotting their LED and realizing that there was another android sitting across from his desk, “Jesus Christ, there’s two of you now?!”

Before he could ask any questions, Captain Fowler called out, “Hank! In my office!”

Lieutenant Anderson looked at the ceiling and gave an exasperated sigh, he walked towards the glass cubicle muttering under his breath, “Not even in five minutes into the day and it’s already ruined.”

Connor and Delmira looked at each other in mutual understanding and accompanied the lieutenant to the office, the latter shutting the door behind them before taking their place at the back of the room.

“I’ve got ten new cases involving androids on my desk every day,” Captain Fowler said looking up from his terminal as he spoke, “We’ve always had isolated incidents, old ladies losing their android maids and that kind of crap… But now, we’re getting reports of assaults and even homicides, like that guy last night… This isn’t just CyberLife’s problem anymore. It’s now a criminal investigation and we’ve gotta deal with it before the shit hits the fan. I want you to investigate these cases and see if there’s any link.”

“Why me?” Lieutenant Anderson responded indignantly, “Why do I gotta be the one to deal with this shit. I am the least qualified cop in the country to handle this case! I know jack shit about androids, Jeffrey! I can barely change the settings on my own phone!”

“Everybody’s overloaded!” Captain Fowler raised his voice, “I think you’re perfectly qualified for this type of investigation.”

Hank shot up from his seat shouting, “Bullshit! The truth is nobody wants to investigate these fuckin’ androids and you left me holdin’ the bag!”

Captain Fowler took a second to compose himself before calmly continuing, “CyberLife sent over these android to help with the investigation. They’re state-of-the-art prototypes and will act as your partners and team.”

“No fuckin’ way! I don’t need partners, and certainly not these plastic pricks!” Lieutenant Anderson yelled while pointing at Connor and them.

Delmira observed a small twitch in his eye before Captain Fowler lost his cool as well, “Hank, you are seriously starting to piss me off! You are a police lieutenant, you are supposed to do what I say and shut your goddamn mouth!”

“You know what my goddamn mouth has to say to you, huh?” Lieutenant Anderson pushed.

“Ok, ok. I’ll pretend like I didn’t hear that, so I don’t have to add any more pages to your disciplinary folder ‘cause it already looks like a fuckin’ novel! This conversation is over!” Captain Fowler said with a tone of finality turning back to his terminal.

Lieutenant Anderson leaned down onto the Captain’s desk, “Jeffery, Jesus Christ! Why are you doin’ this to me? You know how much I hate these fuckin’ things. Why you doin’ this to me?”

“Listen, I’ve had just about enough of your bitchin. Either you do your job or you hand in your badge,” Captain Fowler responded, the informal use of his name seeming to have pushed a button, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.”

Hank gave a frustrated growl as he rushed passed the two androids and slammed the door on his way out.

Delmira was about to follow him out when they heard Connor speak up, “I wonder whether Lieutenant Anderson is really the best person for this investigation?”

“Hey, I don’t need a machine to tell me how to handle my men, okay? So get the fuck outta my office,” Captain Fowler aggressively addressed him while pointing him out the door.

Connor took a second before saying, “Have a nice day, Captain.”

As he walked out of the office Delmira looked back at the captain, “I won’t keep you any longer, have a nice day.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Captain Fowler responded not looking up from his terminal as he waved them out of his office.

Delmira walked up to Lieutenant Anderson’s desk just in time to catch the last part of his and Connor’s conversation.

“No one’s using that,” the Lieutenant said pointing at the desk in front of him.

Connor looked slightly confused, looking at Delmira for an answer knowing that they had been using the desk earlier in the day.

“We will be sharing a desk while we are here. I spoke to the Captain earlier today and the precinct does not have enough room to move in another desk,” Delmira informed him.

Connor nodded in understanding before sitting down. Delmira thought that the android would get right to work but he surprisingly carried on a conversation with the lieutenant, “A lot of people don’t appreciate having androids around. I was wondering, is there any reason in particular you despise me?”

“Yeah,” the Lieutenant nodded, a grim look overcoming his face, “there’s one.”

Connor stayed quiet expecting more of an answer but when none came he looked back at his workstation displeased before continuing, “Do you listen to Knights of the Black Death? I really like that music. It’s full of…energy.”

Both Delmira and Lieutenant Anderson looked at him with bewilderment but it was the lieutenant who spoke up, “You listen to Heavy Metal?”

“Well,” Connor started, trying to find a good way to phrase his answer, “I don’t really listen to music as such, but I’d like to.”

Hank gave him a confused look before shaking his head and continuing his work. Delmira nudged Connor’s chair with their foot from where they were leaning against the cubicle wall to get his attention.

When Connor turned slightly to show he was listening, Delmira silently asked them through their mind link, “ _What are you doing?”_

 _“Lieutenant Anderson is displeased that I was destroyed the last time we met. During the short time that my predecessor was with him, he learned that it was best to adapt to the lieutenant’s personality, as that tends to bring the best results. As such, I am gathering personal information to learn how to best approach him in the future,”_ Connor responded.

While his train of though was sound, Delmira couldn’t help but furrow their brow, _“And this is necessary to the mission how?”_

Connor gave the smallest frown, perceptible only to the other android before continuing, _“Lieutenant Anderson himself admitted that he does not like androids. We will need his full cooperation in order for things to go smoothly and if that means taking a few steps to befriend him, I will take the time to do so. For the good of the mission.”_

Delmira nodded slightly, satisfied with the answer and began looking around the office while keeping an ear on the conversation. If Connor was right, what ever information was gathered would be helpful.

“You’re a Detroit Gears fan, right? Denton Carter scored 53% of his shots from the three-point line yesterday. Did you see the game?” Connor asked.

Hank turned with an annoyed look at Connor, “That’s what I was watchin’ at the bar last night.”

“Oh…” Connor said, noticing it was probably best not to say anything else.

 _“Might be bad to tell him that the Gears lost that game last night,”_ Delmira chipped in mentally.

Connor gave them a dead-pan look, “ _You can tell him that if you want.”_

Delmira hummed noncommittally and Connor went back to his line of question, “You have a dog, right?”

The lieutenant gave him a suspicious side eye, “How do you know that?”

“The dog hairs on your chair. I like dogs. What’s your dog’s name?” Connor pressed on.

“What’s it to you?” the man responded gruffly.

Connor looked away and Delmira couldn’t help but shake their head. Obviously trying to get to know the lieutenant was not going as planned.

Surprising both the androids however, he responded with, “Sumo. I call him Sumo.”

Connor looked past the lieutenant at the glass cubicle they had been in not long before, “Have you known Captain Fowler for long?”

“Yeah, for too long,” Lieutenant Anderson followed Connor’s glance towards the Captain’s office, staring for a few seconds before shaking his head, “Why don’t you stop this line of questioning and get to work. The terminal’s got all the files on the deviants you need.”

“Delmira and I were discussing the cases before you arrived, trying to find a common thread but so for we don’t have much. Out of the 243 files the first dates back nine months, starting in Detroit and then quickly spreading across the country,” Connor paused for a second, scanning through the files mentally before turning to the lieutenant, “An AX400 is reported to have assaulted a man last night. That could be a good starting point for our investigation.”

Delmira quickly pulled up the case file. The plaintiff claims he was violently attacked by his domestic android, an AX400 model. The android had just returned from being repaired the previous day and had shown signs of aggression in the past. Delmira scanned for any previous altercations using the information of the owner Todd Williams who resided in Corktown.

While nothing came up for an altercation involving the AX400, Todd Williams himself came back with several reports of drug use, domestic abuse, and a restraining order that prevented him from having contact with both his ex-wife and child.

A muttering of “Oh, Jesus” brought them back to the present and Delmira found that Connor was currently standing over the lieutenant who was trying his hardest to ignore the android.

“I understand you’re facing personal issues, Lieutenant, but you need to move past them and-“

Lieutenant Anderson interrupted Connor, “Hey! Don’t talk to me like you know me. I’m not your friend and I don’t need your advice, okay?”

Delmira watched as the lieutenant balled his fist as Connor leaned in, _“Connor, I wouldn’t push him right now. Take a step back.”_

Connor ignored the advice, “I’ve been assigned this mission, Lieutenant. I didn’t come here to wait until you feel like working.”

Lieutenant Anderson dropped his tablet onto the desk and grabbed Connor by his coat, slamming him into the cubicle wall with a snarl on his face, “Listen, asshole. If it was up to me, I’d throw the lot of you in a dumpster and set a match to it. So, stop pissing me off or things are gonna get nasty.”

In one smooth movement, Delmira grabbed the lieutenant by the back of his coat and pulled back hard, surprising him into letting go and making him stumble back before stepping in front of Connor.

With their arms crossed behind their back, they looked up into the lieutenant’s glowering eyes and spoke in a low dangerous tone, “I strongly suggest you don’t do repeat that action in the future or you’re really going to learn the definition of nasty.”

Lieutenant Anderson stood over Delmira at his full height and growled, “What are you, his body guard?”

Delmira continued to stare up defiantly and unafraid, LED circling yellow and responding coldly, “While Connor and I are both here to assist in the investigation of deviant androids, CyberLife has modified me specifically to have the features of the elite Myrmidon android troopers which are a step above human Navy Seals. My assistance to the investigation is secondary to my primary mission, which is to protect high-value assets to Cyberlife. Connor falls under that specification so yes, you can define that as being his bodyguard. That being said, I am perhaps the most dangerous bodyguard currently in existence.”

There was a moment of total silence, Delmira became aware that the lieutenant’s initial assault on Connor had garnered the attention of the police station but the unexpected reaction of the new android had enthralled the officers. Scanning the room without looking away, Delmira picked out at least five visible officers who had their hands on their weapons ready to draw in case things escalated.

The silence stretched out a few seconds, neither party willing to back down when an awkward clearing of a throat caused the tension to defuse.

“Lieutenant,” Officer Miller interrupted, “uh, sorry to disturb you. I have some information on the AX400 that attacked the guy last night. It’s been seen in the Ravendale district.”

“I’m on it,” Lieutenant Anderson looked away first, giving one last glare before walking away.

Life returned back to the station as the tension was cut, the officers set back at ease and they continued their work, occasionally glancing at the two androids.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Connor murmured as he fixed his coat and tie.

“He shouldn’t have put his hands on you in the first place,” Delmira said as they turned around and faced the other android, another small twinge going off in their head that they decided to ignore from now on due to its frequent reoccurrence, “It’s not like I could help it anyways. It’s part of my program to protect you from harm.”

Connor gave them a look that Delmira couldn’t quite place before he glanced towards the precinct doors, “Let’s go, if we’re lucky he’ll still be waiting for us otherwise we will have to take a cab.”

As Delmira walked passed him towards the exit, something made them reach up and flick the other android in the ear, Connor turned to them with an extremely confused frown as he reached up and covered the spot.

Delmira chided, _"Also next time listen to me when I give you advice. I sent here to prevent possible incidents, not wait to intercept them while they are actively happening."_

The two exited the police station together, the steady rain of the previous night continuing to drench the city and were quite surprised to spot Lieutenant Anderson seated in an old personal vehicle, impatiently tapping his fingers on the wheel.

As Delmira opened the front passenger door to allow Connor in, his voice floated out of the car, “Nuh-uh I don’t fucking think so. Both of you in the back.”

Delmira had a dour look on their face as they contemplated sitting in the front anyways when Connor grabbed their shoulders, motioning with his head the backseat.

 _“It’s not worth getting him riled up, lets just go so we can get back to the mission at hand,_ ” his voice whispered in their mind.

Both of them sat in the backseat, the mid-sized car leaving a decent amount of room between them though the seats themselves were uncomfortable. Buildings both old and new sped by on the way to the Ravendale district.

Connor absentmindedly rolled a coin back and forth between his fingers while Delmira was caught deep in thought reviewing all the events that had occurred in the 8 short hours since their creation.

* * *

 Public Opinion: Skeptical | Software instability: ??? | Hank: Tense | Connor: Trusted | Amanda: Trusted

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! This fic will follow the storyline pretty closely for the next couple chapters or so until some major choices come up that will change some things significantly. Please let me know what you think of Delmira as well, I'd love to hear your opinion on them!
> 
> Also sidenote, I have discovered David Cage is garbage at continuity (among other things) as I am double checking my fic against the game to make sure the times and dates are correct. How can Connor and Hank be at the Ravendale district to look for Kara at 10:30am if Hank doesn't come into the office until noon??? 
> 
> Anyways thank you for reading and have a lovely day!


	4. The Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do I tell the shadows from the light,  
> choose between what is wrong and what is right?  
> \-------------------------------------------------------------  
> Delmira's first mission does not go as planned.

The rain had lightened from a downpour to drizzle by the time they got to the Ravendale District but it made it no less miserable for the humans on the scene. A decent amount of people walked up and down the street, most with umbrellas to protect them from the elements while others only had hooded jackets and beanies. While waiting for Lieutenant Anderson to finish collecting a statement from a store owner who had seen the AX400 with a child the night before, Delmira’s diligent gaze swept over the crowd, scanning every face that was visible in case someone set off an alert. Now that there was an active investigation, the need to do something to further their mission became a constant demand from their programming. Their hands fidgeted behind their back in response to the slight sense of unrest in their system, breaking the otherwise perfect parade rest pose they held.

 _“Can’t stay still right?”_ Connor’s voice popped into their head.

Delmira nodded slightly, head turning to the other side of the street where they had been scanning to look over a new area.

 _“I’m surprised they didn’t give you something to stay busy. It’s a small glitch of the RK800 series that was found during field-testing,”_ Connor explained as he took out his coin and began flicking it between his hands, _“The coin is not only for calibration of cognitive and physical reactions but to expel some of the excessive energy that comes with being fully engaged on the task at hand. It’s something CyberLife is attempting to get rid of in any of their future developments.”_

Connor tossed the coin to his left but made no attempt to catch it. Delmira’s body stayed stone still as their hand snapped out quickly and grabbed it midair before it could sail past.  Looking down from scanning faces, they inspected the coin. A quarter, minted in Philadelphia in 1994, perfectly polished though having a small dent near the top where it looked like it had been dropped at some point. Delmira gave Connor a questioning look and received a trace of a smile from the android before he gave an encouraging nod.

The slickness from the rain only made it slightly more difficult to copy the tricks that they had seen Connor do earlier but found it pretty easy to pick up. Like their partner had explained, the longer they used the coin, the more the small distraction settled their system.

Delmira jolted as Lieutenant Anderson spoke up, quickly tossing the coin back to Connor before giving the detective their full attention.

“If you two are done,” the lieutenant grumbled as he walked under an awning to get out of the rain and reviewed his tablet, “Bus driver saw it at 2:30am when he had to kick them off the Downtown bus so it could go back to the depot. It was then seen at a convenience store asking for cash to get a room at the nearby motel. We’ve got officers down there looking but they haven’t reported anything back so I’m guessing it’s a dead-end on their part.”

“It stole wire cutters, there must be a reason,” Connor stated.

Delmira glanced over and saw that his eyes were slightly out of focus. They could only guess that he was hacking into the surrounding security cameras to try and retrace where the android had travelled during the night.

“Wire cutters? The fuck you talking about?” Lieutenant Anderson asked, clearly confused.

“I checked the CCTV while you were questioning the clerk. The android was caught on camera stealing them. It had wire cutters, it was looking for a place to hide,” Connor answered confirming Delmira’s idea.

“So what’s your conclusion, Sherlock?” the lieutenant crossed his hands and looking at Connor expectantly.

It was Delmira’s eyes that went back to the street they had been watching earlier, now sweeping the surrounding buildings before locking on to an abandoned house sitting at the corner surrounded by fencing and trespassing signs, “Maybe it didn’t go far…”

“It’s discrete, good place as any to get away from prying eyes. Let’s check it out,” Lieutenant Anderson huffed.

Despite the lieutenant’s gruffness, Delmira couldn’t help but pick up an undertone of approval. They experienced a small sensation of achievement at being able to tie together the clues and a pleased smile decorated their face as Connor lead the way around the block. Even handicapped by their coding, the fact that they were able to accomplish the job that their series was originally created to do instilled them with confidence and a small feeling of joy.

A small twinge startled them to pause halfway across the street.

Joy. A human emotion. Androids are not human. Therefore they can only experience sensations akin to emotion. An imitation. But never really _feeling_ anything.

The thought unsettled them slightly in a way that made their fingers start twitching again, the memory of Connor’s coin ghosted from hand to hand in an attempt to calm their system. Maybe they really should get a coin for themselves.

Delmira briefly played with the idea of sending another report to Cyberlife but was quietly relieved by the distraction of Connor calling out that he had found traces of thirium along the perimeter of the fence line. It would be something to review another time.

Joining the detectives, they inspected the fence line and saw clean, angled cuts along the edges. A blink led them to their mind-palace where they could see the blue blood that Connor had observed along with small droplets leading to the building beyond. Blinking back out, they saw a small sudden movement in between the boards of the blocked off window.

“Someone’s watching us from inside,” Delmira stated, the anticipation making their thirium pump beat a little faster, “I suggest placing officers around the perimeter in case they try to find an alternative exit.”

Hank nodded in agreement, bringing up a small radio to his mouth, “Surround the fence line, looks like we might get a runner.”

There was a small crackling response that Delmira didn’t catch as they gave Connor a shared look. Delmira pulled the fence out of its concrete post and opened it wide enough that people could walk in and out of the building without issue.

“Anybody home?” Connor called out as he knocked on the door.

Delmira glanced through the wooden slats and saw somebody standing perfectly still in the center of the room.

“Let me go first. Lieutenant for your safety please remain outside until the building is cleared,” Delmira requested, not trusting whoever was on the other side not to attack as soon as the door was opened.

The lieutenant frowned while folding his arms but allowed Delmira to take point. Connor stepped back as Delmira twisted the handle and pushed the door, waiting for a few tense seconds to insure there were no sudden movements before entering.

The inside of the house was trashed and smelled of burnt meat wafted in the air but what immediately caught their attention was the WR600 with a damaged face that was holding stock still. He faced the wall behind the two androids though Delmira could see his eyes were flicking between the two investigators as well as to different areas in the house. The door shut by itself behind them and suddenly both Delmira and Connor were alone with the strange android. Connor began to approach but Delmira held out their arm to stop him from getting to close.

 _“Something is stressing him out greatly to the point where his stress levels make him moderately likely to self-destruct,”_ Connor relayed to Delmira once he finished his scan.

Delmira did their own scan and found that the particular android had been reported missing and that the massive scars along its face were caused by severe burns that stopped it from regenerating properly.

“I’m looking for an AX400, have you seen it,” Connor inquired.

“Ralph’s seen nobody,” the WR600 replied quickly, his eyes twitch towards the stairs in the corner of the room.

“Don’t be afraid,” Connor said softly as he began walking around the room, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Ralph looked down and said nothing. Delmira began to walk the opposite way Connor had, the two circling the android like wolves as they looked around. There was a burnt rat on the table with plates set up, a makeshift bed on the floor next to a roaring fire. A curious finding for something that didn’t require heat or food to survive.

“Are there any other androids here, anyone upstairs?” Connor asked as he moved towards the stairs, knowing that he was going the right direction when he saw Ralph’s stress start to climb.

“Other androids? No… Ralph is alone…” the WR600 responded, starting to shift his weight uncomfortably as Connor got closer and closer to the stairs.

There was a sudden drop in his stress levels that made Connor stop climbing up and come back down to retrace his steps.

“There’s blue blood on the fence outside, I know another android was here,” Connor pushed as he moved towards a door in the back of the room, watching as the damaged android’s stress go down further.

“Ralph scratched himself coming through… That’s Ralph’s blood…”

An obvious lie. Delmira bended down and picked up a poker that had been used to stoke the fire. An alternate plan forming in case Connor’s line of questioning didn’t work out. Connor opened the door and saw that it lead to a kitchen but what interested him more was that RA9 was obsessively scrawled all over the walls as well as the familiar line ‘I am alive’.

 _“He’s deviant,”_ Connor informed Delmira as he closed the door and moved to the entrance of the building. He would have to tell Hank that a proper investigation of the building would be needed to gather evidence.

Delmira felt that was all they needed to step in. They approached Ralph from his blind side and grabbed him by the front of his tattered coat, shoving him against the table with the red-hot poker inches away from his neck.

“I don’t like liars Ralph and you have done nothing but lie to us since we got here,” Delmira growled as Ralph yelped in fear, vainly trying to fight his way out of their grasp without touching the glowing metal.

“RALPH KNOWS NOTHING! PLEASE DON’T HURT RALPH!” the distressed android cried out.

“What the hell is going on in there?” Lieutenant Anderson called out from outside.

Connor began to respond but crumpled to the floor when a piece of wood slammed into his head. Delmira turned to see what the sudden noise was and caught a flash of white hair and a scared expression on a little girl before Ralph used the distraction to his advantage and pushed the threatening android off of him. The three figures ran through the kitchen door as Lieutenant Anderson busted through the entrance.

“It’s here! Call it in!” Connor shouted as he got up and started chasing the deviants.

Delmira was hot on his heels as they exited the house and spotted a large hole in the fence that had been hid from the outside by a tarp fluttering in the wind. The two androids jumped through, right into the path of a startled police officer.

“Which way did it go?” Delmira demanded, their thirium pump thrumming with energy both from the sudden exertion and anticipation, a feeling like fire racing through their system priming them for the chase.

“That way- they’re headed for the train station!” The officer pointed down the road past the motel.

They both rushed away, like hounds in pursuit, weaving through the crowded sidewalk with graceful precision. In only a few seconds Delmira was pulling ahead, the modified muscle fibers giving them the advantage of faster speed, keeping their eyes trained on the two fleeing figures that were in view, briefly noticing that Ralph was nowhere in sight. Blaring sirens echoed over the rain and the hunter’s prey made a sharp turn down an alleyway.

An officer rushed up to the street in time to point them down the road but Delmira was already turning. They saw the android pushing the child over the fence that blocked access to the highway before starting to the climb themselves. Delmira reached out and grabbed one of its leg, tugging down hard as the android cried out in alarm but it held fast and twisted to deliver a swift kick to the head with their free leg. Delmira stumbled back and the now visible AX400 quickly made its way over. Connor rushed up to the fence and clenched on to it with determination, analyzing the frightened deviant who stared back in fear. The officer who had directed them down the alley ran up and pointed his pistol at the pair.

Connor raised his hand up, “Don’t shoot! We need it alive!”

Delmira got up in time to see the two slide down the embankment and hop over the barrier that flashed warnings of high speed automated cars but visibly hesitated when it got to the edge.

Lieutenant Anderson arrived beside them breathing hard before gasping when he saw the scene before him, “Oh fuck, that’s insane.”

To everyone’s horror, the two began to cross. The screams of the little girl pierced the air as the AX400 dragged them through traffic and they were watched with bated breath until it reached to the median strip.

As Connor began to climb up, Hank grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down, “Hey! Where you goin’!?”

“I can’t let them get away!” Connor said through gritted teeth.

“They won’t! They’ll never make it to the other side,” the lieutenant assured him, leaning down trying to catch his breath.

“I can’t take that chance!” Connor said pushing himself up.

Lieutenant Anderson reached up, grasping the android’s coat firmly and yelling, “Hey, you will get yourself killed! Do NOT go after ‘em, Connor, that’s an order!”

Connor steeled himself, pushing past the lieutenant’s grip only to feel a strong hand grasp his other shoulder and a massive shock go through his body that disabled his muscular systems. The force of the shock made him release the fence and tumble back onto the earth at an angle that allowed him to watch as Delmira vaulted over.

The lieutenant was cussing up a storm at both androids but Delmira glared down at Connor as they sent him a message with a furious tone, _“No wonder they sent me, you are actively searching for ways to get yourself destroyed! I will capture the deviant, you stay here. The paralysis will last about two minutes for your own safety. In the meantime, think about reasons why I shouldn’t report your overly risk-taking behavior to CyberLife when I get back!”_

_“Our mission is to capture deviants at all co-“_

Delmira cut off the signal as they slid down the muddy bank and leapt over the barrier. They couldn’t get distracted here. They activated their scanner and suddenly there were numbers and warnings flying past their vision as cars sped by. Their heightened reflexes allowed them to get to the median with little trouble, though at one point they did have to jump and leap off the hood of a speeding cab to gain enough height and momentum to pass between two close vehicles.

Delmira chased the two figures down the median until the AX400 realized that they were still being followed and decided to take their chances with the second half of the dangerous highway. As soon as they attempted to cross the first lane however, the android was clipped by a car that sent both it and the child sprawling onto the second lane. Quickly gathering it’s bearings, it grabbed the little girl and held her close as another car sped by the place she had been mere milliseconds before. This small lapse in their escape was just enough time for Delmira to catch up to their position. The AX400 managed to push the child to safety in a short break between vehicles just as it was grabbed from behind. There was a brief struggle, the rain making the jacket the deviant was wearing slick and it managed to rip itself out of Delmira’s grasp and shove them into the path of an incoming garbage truck. Quick thinking lead to the modified RK800 rolling out of the way of the first vehicle but unfortunately not fast enough to roll back in time to avoid having their arm slashed by the sharp bumper of another car.

Delmira cursed as they got up, swiping away the warning that they had sustained damage and saw the two escaping over the ridge, both having made it across. Despite the injury, the android followed in hot pursuit. They two fleeing figures attempted to take narrow alleys and sharp turns to shake off the insistent predator but whatever decision they made, it seemed like their hunter was always two steps ahead.

It was when Delmira cut them off at an underpass that the deviant android realized there was no chance to get away from their pursuer. The AX400 made sure it’s body was between the approaching android and the child before crying out, “Why are you doing this? Why can’t you just let us go?”

Delmira scowled, narrowing their eyes before speaking, “To name a few of your recent crimes: you violently attacked Todd Howard last night and kidnapped his daughter, you-“

“It’s not true! He’s lying!” the small girl interrupted stepping out to the side which startled Delmira when they saw it was not a human child but rather an YK500 android, “He’s the one who tried to hurt us! Kara saved us by escaping!”

The AX400, Kara, quickly pulled the child behind her again before pleading, “Please, you have to understand. He already damaged me once bad enough to need repairs when I defended her the first time. He was absolutely furious last night, high on red ice. He would have killed her if I didn’t do anything!”

Delmira frowned as they processed this information, taking a moment to glance down at their damaged arm to watch as rivulets of blue blood dripped down to the ground and mixed with rain before closing off the surface veins to prevent more thirium from leaking out. They knew Todd was a violent man more than capable of destroying the two androids before them. Under the law, he had all the right to do whatever he wanted with his property but the idea of the human so purposefully and viciously damaging the two androids, especially the child, disquieted them. When they looked back up, the pale blue eyes of the AX400 turned into a different pair staring back. Dark, fearful, pleading. The lingering smell of cigarettes and rotting flesh.

The fire that had coursed through their system during the entire chase fizzled out and in its place was left uncertainty.

“If you take us back, they’ll destroy me and Alice will go back to him where he’ll kill her. I beg you please, I was only trying to save her life,” Kara whispered over the light rainfall that cascaded around them, her fate in the hands of the android blocking their way out.

Delmira looked around nervously before asking, “Do you believe that falls under your primary programming?”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Kara responded, taken back by the question and knitting her brows in confusion.

Delmira glanced behind their shoulder to make sure no one had found them yet, their LED a constantly circling red knowing that this would be a long shot before turning back and carefully wording their question, “As an AX400 model you’re primary function is as a domestic worker, housekeeper, and caretaker of young children. When you first arrived on the premises of Todd William’s home did the primary instructions given to you include taking care of Alice? If so, do you believe that the act of removing Alice from the situation where they could be harmed fits with the definition of being their caretaker and, therefore, being in line with your programming?”

Kara continued to look at them in confusion until it suddenly clicked. The broadness of the term “caretaker” could encompass many things, including looking after the safety of a child and removing them from a dangerous situation. A loophole within the definition.

“Yes… YES. Alice’s father was identified as a danger and as her caretaker I had to think about her safety and future which is why I decided to remove her from the situation,” Kara answered cautiously, making sure to use the correct terminology and not breaking eye contact during the entire response.

“Then by that definition, I can assert that you were only following your primary program when you left the presence of your owner last night,” a gentle smile made its way to Delmira’s face that quickly turned into a strained grimace as a stabbing headache seized their mind, “As such, I must _firmly_ instruct you to return to your owner as soon as your programming dictates that the danger has passed. Have a good day.”

Without waiting for a response, Delmira quickly turned around and walked back towards the highway. It took everything in them not to run back to the two androids that they could hear rushing away towards the train station and take them into custody. Due to the loophole that Delmira had exploited, there was technically no recorded proof that Kara had gone deviant and as such they would not fall under the parameters of the modified RK800’s own programming to hunt them down.

Delmira leaned against a wall, unease circulating in their system the longer they thought about it. It was a technicality covering for another technicality. Connor would be displeased that the two androids got away, but it… felt right to let them go.

 _‘Speaking of Connor_ ,’ Delmira thought to themselves with a sharp frown, pushing away the uncomfortable sensation that seemed to make their headache worse, he would shortly be on the receiving end of some _very_ strong words for attempting to put himself in such high risk of destruction.

Their thinking was interrupted by the whoop of a siren and Delmira glanced up to spot Lieutenant Anderson in his personal vehicle pulling up. They dutifully got into the backseat of the vehicle and quietly glared at the android in the front seat.

“The FUCK was that!?” Lieutenant Anderson yelled in outrage as soon as the door was slammed shut, “You could've been killed!”

“Our duty is to the mission of catching deviants at all costs,” Delmira replied leaning back in seat.

“Fuckin’ androids and their fuckin’ mission,” the lieutenant growled through gritted teeth as he began driving.

Connor turned around to look back at Delmira, his eyes widening when he spotted the thirium-stained jacket.

“You’re hurt,” Connor stated simply, “Delmira I should apologize to you, I-”

“Do you want me to be deactivated in less than 24 hours of my creation Connor?” Delmira cut him off coldly, “My actions are defined by what you decide to do in a situation. I have to follow your lead. Should you have listened Lieutenant Anderson’s orders and stayed put I would not have had to chase the two androids, which as you can see got away regardless.”

“There were two androids?” Connor whispered, surprised by the fact.

“The child was a YK500 but that is not the point. You do understand that if you are destroyed, I fail my primary objective and therefore am flawed in the eyes of CyberLife. I will be deactivated and dismantled in order to find what went wrong and unlike you, my body is merely a modification of an existing series. An altered creation with one-of-a-kind coding. An experiment. I do not have the privilege of being reuploaded should I be destroyed,” Delmira finished explaining.

Connor looked away, the sensation of regret and something else making him unable to meet Delmira’s eyes, “I’m... sorry. I’ll make sure to take into account the possible consequences of my actions and how they affect others in future investigations.”  

There was a tense uncomfortable silence in the car before Delmira gave a hard flick to the back of Connor’s head that made him reach up and rub the spot while giving the other android a puzzled stare.

“That’s all I can request from you,” Delmira answered with a nod.

Lieutenant Anderson sighed, “Fuckin’ Christ, wish you’d told me the stakes of you crossing that highway, I would’ve dragged your ass back down too.”

Delmira smiled brightly at the lieutenant, “I doubt you could have Lieutenant but thank you for being concerned for my safety.”

Lieutenant Anderson gave a grunt in response, “All this runnin’ around has me starving. I’m gonna grab lunch before heading back to the station.”

With that, the man cranked up his music and sped off to his favorite food spot.

* * *

Public Opinion: Skeptical | Software instability: ??? | Hank: Neutral | Connor: Trusted | Amanda: Neutral

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you think so far!


	5. Descent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know where I'm headed but perhaps there's hope.  
> Maybe I'll find something real and not feel the noose around my throat.  
> \-------------------------------------------------------------  
> One wrong choice can change everything.

Lieutenant Anderson pulled up opposite to a food truck parked below an underpass, the bright neon ‘Chicken Feed’ sign above it cutting through rain. As the lieutenant removed the keys from the car and exited, blissful silence took over the roaring screams of the loud music. He didn’t even turn around to give them the order to stay in the car, taking the moment to curse at the taxicab that nearly hit him as he crossed the street.

Delmira and Connor shared a knowing glance before leaving the car as well and walking to join him. A man sidled up to the lieutenant as he ordered his food and was greeted elatedly.

“Hey listen, I have a shit-hot tip for you. Number five in the third, lickety-split! That filly’s one hell of a chaser. You wanna flutter?” the man asked.

“Last shit-hot tip you gave me set me back a week’s wages Pedro,” the lieutenant grumbled as he opened his wallet and paid the man in the food truck.

“Come on, this is different, It’s 100% guaranteed. You can’t go wrong!” Pedro answered.

Delmira watched Pedro’s body language, charisma flowing with every hand movement and his voice charming. This was a man who wanted you to trust him and it set off red flags in their processor. A quick scan confirmed Delmira’s suspicions.

Aabdar, Pedro. Born: 01/25/2005 in Detroit, Michigan. Criminal record of illegal gambling and fraud.

Before Delmira could comment, the lieutenant handed him several bills, “Alright, I’m in.”

“Damn straight,” the man took the money and quickly began to walk away, taking a second to look back at the lieutenant, “You won’t regret this!”

‘ _You scanned him as well I assume?’_ Connor’s voice whispered into their mind.

_‘I did,’_ Delmira responded with a frown, _‘I would think that someone of Lieutenant Anderson’s reputation and career would look down upon such behavior, not engage in it.’_

The two androids walked up besides the lieutenant, keeping him in between them.

Lieutenant Anderson glanced between the two before sighing, “What is you guys problem? Don’t you ever do as you’re told? Look you don’t have to follow me around like a pair of poodles!”

Connor looked away thoughtfully while Delmira focused on scanning the objects inside the food truck, wrinkling their nose slightly as they spotted several health code violations.

_‘I should apologize to the Lieutenant for my behavior at the station,’_ Connor said suddenly.

Delmira looked away from the truck and gave him a curious glance from behind the lieutenant’s shoulder, _‘Why is that? He was the one who reacted with violence.’_

_‘But it was my fault that made him react like he did,’_ Connor shifted his weight slightly with discomfort, _‘I want to try to become friends with the Lieutenant, not push him away.’_

Delmira huffed quietly, there was no reason for Connor to apologize but it seemed that the recent events made him start thinking more about interpersonal relationships.

“I’m sorry for my behavior back at the police station. I didn’t mean to be unpleasant,” Connor expressed solemnly.

“Oh wow, you even got a brown-nosing apology program! Guys at CyberLife thought of everything, huh?” Lieutenant Anderson gave a small chuckle as he reached for his food, “Thanks Gary, I’m starving.”

“Don’t leave those things here!” Gary leaned out the food truck to yell at him.

“Huh, not a chance! They follow me everywhere,” the lieutenant called back as he made his way to a covered tabletop.

The two androids proved him right by following him to the table, positioning themselves to be across from him as he had his meal. The sound of a radio blared over the gentle thrum of rain on the umbrella above them as he took the burger out of its case and began eating.

“This Pedro,” Connor whispered, “He was proposing illegal gambling, am I right?”

The lieutenant was quiet for a second before responding, “Yeah.”

“And you made a bet?” Connor inquired further.

“Yeah,” Hank replied, doubling down on his affirmation as he took another bite.

Delmira’s LED blinked yellow as they stored away this information for the future. They knew that the bet had been illegal but hadn’t expected for Lieutenant Anderson to confirm so brashly about being involved in such activities, especially when he had ties to the police force. Watching Connor’s face, it seemed that he had shared the same confusion.

“Your meal contains 1.4 times the recommended daily intake of calories and twice the cholesterol level. You shouldn’t eat that,” Connor informed the man.

Hank looked down at the burger in thought before he shrugged and took another bite, “Everybody’s gotta die of something.”

Connor could see that this line of questioning didn’t seem to be doing much in terms of being friendly so he changed his tactics, “Is there anything you would like to know about us?”

“Hell no,” the lieutenant responded before pausing, “Well, yeah, um, why did they make you look so goofy and give you that weird voice? And you, if you are just a modified version of him, why did they make you a woman?”

Connor dismissed the insult, “CyberLife androids are designed to work harmoniously with humans. Both my appearance and voice were specifically designed to facilitate my integration.”

The lieutenant nodded slightly before replying, “Well, they fucked up.”

“As for me, my appearance is to focus pressure on myself in a fight. By having a smaller build despite having superior combat skills, I can surprise human attackers and use that moment to my advantage. Against androids, a more flexible build makes me a harder target to hit and allows me to take shots that Connor cannot,” Delmira replied smoothly.

“Huh, I get the human part,” the lieutenant said thoughtfully, “a lot’s changed for the better since I was young but people still prefer going after women in a fight than men. I’ll take your word for it when it comes to androids though.”

Delmira cocked their head to the side and was about to ask him to elaborate further before Connor interrupted, “Maybe I should tell you what we know about deviants?”

“You read my mind. Proceed.” The lieutenant waved before taking another bite.

Connor started to explain, “We believe that a mutation occurs in the software of some androids which can lead to them emulating a human emotion-“

Hank stopped him with a wave of his hand and a sigh, “In English, please?”

“They don’t really feel emotions, they just get overwhelmed by irrational instructions which can lead to unpredictable behavior,” Connor finished.

Delmira thought to the two androids they had allowed to escape. Kara and Alice had certainly acted unpredictably when they had crossed the highway but interacting with them afterwards, they seemed to have been completely rational albeit slightly misguided. Their behavior seemed to have been within the regular parameters with the YK500’s programming making her act out like a child having a tantrum and the AX400’s programming ensuring the safety of those within her charge.

Lieutenant Anderson’s voice pulled them out of their thinking, “Emotions always screw everything up. Maybe androids aren’t as different from us as we thought.”

Connor was quiet for a second before inquiring, “Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?”

Delmira felt themselves tense, getting ready for action as last time Connor had attempted to get personal with the lieutenant it didn’t end well. Lieutenant Anderson glanced over to Delmira at  the sudden rigidity before looking back to Connor, his silence building tension.

“Why do you hate androids so much?” Connor asked.

The lieutenant stared at Connor, unmoving and unblinking though Delmira could pick up a sadness in his eyes as he responded, “I have my reasons.’

“So have you ever dealt with deviants before?” the lieutenant asked, quickly moving the conversations to a different topic.

Connor’s LED blinked yellow for a few seconds before responding, “A few months back, a deviant was threatening to jump off the roof with a little girl. I managed to save her.”

Delmira felt the shared memory surface again, the blue scared eyes, the shrill screaming, and the feeling of weightlessness. They pushed it away, the sensation of those memories making their system restless.

“So I guess you’ve done all your homework, right? Know everything there is to know about me?” Lieutenant Anderson mumbled before taking a sip of his drink.

“I know you graduated top of your class. You made a name for yourself in several cases, and became the youngest lieutenant in Detroit,” there was a slight pause and Delmira thought that was all he was going to say before Connor continued, “I also know you’ve received several disciplinary warnings in recent years and… you spend a lot of time in bars.”

“So what’s your conclusion?” Lieutenant Anderson raised his head, ready to judge on what Connor’s answer would be.

“I think working with an officer with personal issues is an added challenge,” Delmira’s hand tightened ready to separate the two should the lieutenant take offence but he held steady as Connor kept speaking “but adapting to human unpredictability is one of my features.”

Delmira was taken off guard by the wink that Connor had given Lieutenant Anderson. Simulating human behavior in order to blend in was normal as that was one of their own features but this small mannerism intrigued them. A sudden transmission halted the train of thought as a report was released. Both androids stood straight from their positions of leaning on the table as they received the information while the lieutenant looked alarmed at them from the sudden change in posture and expression.

“We just got a report of a suspected deviant. It’s a few blocks away. We should go have a look,” Connor announced looking slightly back at the car before quickly glancing back at the lieutenant, “We’ll let you finish your meal, We’ll be in the car if you need us.”

The sensation of anticipation skyrocketed in Delmira’s system once again making them fidgety as they walked to the vehicle with Connor. The need to accomplish the task at hand moved all other running thoughts to the backburner as they focused on the information that was given.

An android that had been wandering around an abandoned apartment complex near Urban Farms had been spotted by a neighbor hiding it’s LED with a beanie before disappearing into the building.

_“_ We can’t let this one get away. Amanda is expecting results from our investigation at the end of the day and it wouldn’t do to disappoint her,” Connor said once they sat down.

Delmira nodded, “We will complete our mission this time. It hopefully will know more about the causes of deviancy so we can track it back to its source and stop it from spreading.”

Connor was quiet for a moment, staring at the tear in Delmira’s suit where they had been hit by the car earlier before asking, “What exactly happened between you and the other deviants when you got across the highway?”

Delmira froze up slightly, their LED turning yellow as their programming ordered them to tell Connor the exact details of the conversation between themselves and the two androids but a smaller, quieter part whispered quietly to keep it a secret. Connor looked into the rearview mirror, his brow furrowing in curiosity from the sudden silence and was about to ask what was the issue before the lieutenant opened the car door interrupting him.

“Alright, what’s the address?” Lieutenant Anderson asked as he started the car, the loud screech of heavy metal startling him before he turned down the radio.

“The Urban Farms development. 265 Acre Avenue,” Connor supplied.

_‘I will draw up a full report and then send it to you after we finish investigating this lead,’_ Delmira messaged to Connor who nodded in return.

On the ride to the apartment complex, the sensation of anticipation for their next hunt was laced with the sensation of discomfort from Connor’s innocent question. It was a straight forward request but Delmira still found themselves fighting over what to tell him, and now what to put on the report. A quick system scan of several systems revealed nothing that could explain why they didn’t want to answer so an internal error was out of the picture.

Maybe they should have taken custody of the two androids anyways. Made them do an official statement before letting them go though they doubted that the station would have released them freely back to the streets regardless of the circumstances. The humans at the station would most likely not have shared the logic behind the android investigator’s thinking and the two would have been returned to Todd.

The thought of Kara and Alice being returned back to him filled Delmira with a sense of dread. With Todd’s history it was possible that they would not have even made it back home. Not that it mattered; they were property to do with as he pleased. Machines that had disobeyed their owner to follow their core programming. Conflicting orders meant that an android had to prioritize what was more important based off of the instructions given at their activation, even if their handler might disagree with them.

Unfortunately these disagreements could turn violent.

Delmira mulled over their decision all the way to the apartment, a six-story building that loomed over the street, most of the windows cracked and boarded up. It had been emptied of its residents after the surrounding area had been bought up by Urban Farms in order to grow food on the rooftops. The people who had lived there before had been more than welcome to stay but the constant sound of machinery and the smell had caused most of them to leave.

The three investigators entered the building, dim lights flickering on as they passed the front door sensor confirming that electricity still worked. Empty tin cans, glass bottles, and other trash littered the floor along with old blankets and burned out metal barrels, evidence that squatters had found shelter from the cold days and nights in the structure

As they climbed onto the elevator, Lieutenant Anderson spoke up pressing the button for the sixth floor, “Alright we’re gonna start up top and work down. These apartments have rooftop access so anyone who wants to get out unseen is gonna go up.”

The rickety elevator groaned before moving making the lieutenant frown nervously. Delmira did a quick scan and was about to tell him the very low chances of the elevator falling before a prompt flashed on their reticle.

_‘It has been 12 hours since your last update to CyberLife. Would you like to make a report?’_

Delmira quickly picked the option to ‘remind me later’. It was risky not to upload frequently, any data that was not saved would be lost should they be destroyed but Delmira still needed time to decide what they would send in their report.

The trip took a little less than a minute and the lieutenant was out of the elevator as soon as the door opened, Delmira followed close behind. He looked back and saw that Connor had not done the same.

“Hey Connor!” the lieutenant called out to him, Delmira watching as Connor’s yellow LED blinked back to blue as he opened his eyes in attention, “You run out of batteries or what?”

“I’m sorry. I was making a report to CyberLife,” Connor replied.

“Huh,” the lieutenant responded waiting for a few seconds before asking sarcastically, “Well, do you plan on staying in the elevator?”

“No, I’m coming!” Connor answered stepping out and following both the human and other android down the hallway.

While lieutenant asked questions about the suspect and Connor informed him about the report that was made, Delmira scanned the hallway. Pigeon feathers and rat droppings lined the hall showing that Detroit’s more wild inhabitants now called the building home. Water dripped into small murky puddles from the peeling roof, a shelf with sparse objects was shoved aside, and an old ruin painting hung from the cracked walls. What once was likely a bright cheerful apartment was now an old decrepit ruin.

“Hey, were you really making a report back there in the elevator?” Lieutenant Anderson’s voice floated down the hall.

“Correct,” Connor answered standing up from kneeling before a pile of feathers.

“Shit, wish I could do that,” the lieutenant responded wistfully, thinking of how quickly paperwork would be done if he had the ability.

Connor knocked on an apartment door and waited a few moments before turning Lieutenant Anderson after no sound was heard. The lieutenant shrugged and made to move to the next door before Connor knocked his fist harder on the door.

“Anybody home?” he called out, “Open up! Detroit Police!”

There was a loud bang and clatter from the room that set the three of them on edge.

The lieutenant stepped forward and moved the two androids back as he pulled out his pistol, “Stay behind me.”

“Got it,” Connor said as he took a few steps back.

“Lieutenant Anderson, please allow me to take point. I don’t want to risk you being injured as well in case there is something dangerous behind the door,” Delmira requested as they moved forward.

The lieutenant gave them a stern glare that stopped them in their tracks before kicking in the door, his years of training showing as he carefully went from room to room to ensure that nobody would sneak up on them. Both Connor and Delmira followed close behind, actively scanning as they moved into the apartment.

The rooms that the lieutenant had cleared were bare of anything except for a few pieces of rotting furniture but the walls were marked with strange symmetrical symbols and labyrinths. The lines that made them were too straight and precise to be created by human hands, which raised their suspicion that an android had found sanctuary in the apartment. Delmira gently brushed the lines with their fingertips, following their course and scanning to see if anything similar had been recorded but it was nothing that had seen before. Perhaps it was simply the erratic drawings of an android gone mad.

From the room, Delmira heard another door get kicked in followed by the sounds of flapping wings and the lieutenant yell out, “What the fuck is this?!”

They rushed back to the hallway, thinking that something had attacked their partners but only saw feathers floating and a disgruntled lieutenant in the doorway that opened up to another room filled with pigeons and more of the strange patterns.

“Jesus, this place stinks,” Lieutenant Anderson complained as he returned his weapon to his holster, finished looking through all the rooms and finding them clear.

Connor leaned over a discarded jacket, taking a moment to scan it, “R.T. Probably initials.”

“He put his initials on his jacket? That’s something your mom does when you’re in first grade,” the lieutenant grumbled as he began looking around for clues as well.

They made a note of Connor going into the bathroom to search, making sure to keep tabs of his location at all times, before moving along.

“Its LED is in the sink,” Connor called out.

“Not surprised it was an android. No human could live with all these fuckin’ pigeons,” the lieutenant replied back as he moved to the window and pushed aside the ratty curtain to let more natural light in.

Delmira went over the kitchen and picked up a bright red container of birdseed, out of place in between the dull rat-bitten cartons that littered the countertops. It seemed that someone had been feeding the birds and drawing them into the apartment. Inspecting the fridge, they found it clear of any food suggesting that the suspect didn’t eat which put them solidly in the android column.

They were about to inspect a strangely new UFD poster on the wall when frantic cheeping made them stop in their steps and look down to see a small yellow and pink baby pigeon flapping in distress. Delmira took into account it’s featherless state and calculated that it could be no more than five days old, far to young to be out of it’s nest. Glancing up, they spotted another baby pigeon resting on top of a bookcase watching them with its beady little eyes and picked up the one on the ground. It cheeped at them angrily, pecking and slapping it’s wings uselessly against their hands as it attempted to escape out of Delmira’s grasp but they made sure to hold it firmly enough that it wouldn’t fall down again but loosely enough not to cause it any harm.

They had to step onto a wooden box to reach the bare nest but once the intrepid chick had been reunited with its sibling, it quiet down and cuddled close to the other warm body. A dark grey pigeon flew up to the nest as Delmira stepped down and sat on the chicks, fluffing its feathers up in what they recognized to be a common intimidation tactic among birds. A gentle smile graced Delmira’s face at the act. This little one would be fearless when it became older but for now need the support of its family to grow up.

“Even though we don’t need anymore of those fucking sky rats, that was really nice,” Delmira startled and turned quickly as Lieutenant Anderson’s voice sounded behind them, spotting him leaning against the wall beside the window with a small smirk, “Didn’t know androids were capable of caring about things other than their mission.”

Delmira look down and straighten out their coat, a sudden sensation of self-consciousness in their appearance making them fidget before they quietly answered, “Life is important. If I can prevent needless suffering and pain I can take the steps to do so as long as it doesn’t interfere.”

Lieutenant Anderson gave a thoughtful huff, nodding before turning back around to investigate a cabinet beside him.

“Come look at this,” Connor called out to from the bathroom breaking the awkward sensation that plagued Delmira’s mind.

As they two walked in, Delmira was instantly knew why Connor had called them in.

“Any idea what it means?” the lieutenant asked as crossed his arms.

“rA9,” Connor responded, “written 2471 times. It’s the same sign Ortiz’s android wrote on the shower wall. Why are they obsessed with this sign?”

The lieutenant stepped closer to the wall noting, “Looks like mazes or something.”

Delmira’s LED turned yellow as they brought up their mind-palace and began to try to put the pieces together. rA9 was the common thread connecting all investigated deviants thus far, seeming almost like a compulsion to have it written down somewhere. The obsessive, almost fervent, way the deviants seemed to hold the phrase was nearly disturbing.

The way this particular deviant had written the phrase along the wall matched the pattern of the shapes that dotted the apartment. The lieutenant said that it looked like a maze. When overlaying it on several different maps of Detroit it made the center of the labyrinth sit on a city park, a suburban neighborhood, an old shipyard, an abandoned warehouse, all of which when cross-referenced with various police reports brought back nothing of significance.

The longer they thought about it, the stronger a headache they began to develop. Without the deviant, there wasn’t anyway to really break the code.

Delmira closed out of the program, reality fading back in and decided to watch Connor as he processed the evidence.

_‘What do you see?’_ Delmira asked him silently.

‘ _The suspect was here writing on the walls when we startled him, he ran into the living room,”_ Connor replied, focused on reconstructing the scene. He got up and followed in the deviants footsteps before he kneeling down again next to a bird cage, looking around the room after a second, ‘ _The suspect ran towards the entrance, tripping over a stool when he heard us enter. The only place for him to go… was up.”_

Both androids looked towards a gaping hole in the roof, a sense of excitement pumped into Delmira’s system. The deviant was still here! They would be able to catch it!

Connor approached the hole with caution, Delmira quietly placing themselves between Lieutenant Anderson, who was musing over paper books, and the possible hideout. For a tense second it was quiet as Connor stepped onto the chair to look closer when suddenly the deviant came flying down from the darkness, his fist giving a hard crack against Connor’s face and using his momentum to speed out the door.

Delmira was at Connor’s side pulling him back up and quickly scanning him for damage while the lieutenant cursed at the pigeons who all took flight from the sudden fright before turning to the two androids, “What are you waiting for?! Chase it!”

There was a frenzy of movement as the two of them followed in pursuit, Connor in front and Delmira behind as they ran through the narrow hallway. The deviant had made it to the end of the hallway by the time the exited the apartment, easily vaulting over the tossed shelf and pushing through the rooftop access door.

The rooftop was much more open than the building and it allowed Delmira to race ahead through the field of wheat and climb over the wall with skilled ease though Connor managed to stay close by taking a faster route. They ran through a building with hydroponic tomatoes in much of the same manner, carefully weaving between the workers before entering a warehouse with hanging vegetables. Delmira managed to slide under the closing door and give chase on the elevated walkway while Connor had to take a detour through the field of lavender below.

Delmira thought they had him cornered when the buildings ended on a steep drop next to a railroad but was surprised when the deviant took the jump anyways and to their alarm Connor followed as well.

_‘Stupid, suicidal-‘_ Delmira began to curse their charge when the sound of a train horn interrupted their mental barrage, ‘ _Oh.’_

Leaping over the ledge onto the glass panes, they heard Lieutenant Anderson exclaim his incredulity before they jumped onto the train top and then grabbed the stairs as they sped by. Climbing up, they found themselves in an apple orchard and spotted the two androids far ahead. Sprinting to catch up they ran through another warehouse cultivating lettuce and spinach before running to the only exit into a cornfield. There was a loud scream as Delmira burst out the other side and found Connor looking torn between Lieutenant Anderson who was hanging off the ledge of the building and the deviant who was running the other way.

Conflicting orders.

Delmira shoved Connor towards the lieutenant yelling ‘Save him!’ before darting off after the escaping android.

The chase ended when they jumped down into an artificial rice paddy and quickly had the deviant on the edge of the building. Nowhere to run.

The deviant turned around, panic in his voice as he begged, “Please, I’ve done nothing wrong. I just wanted to be free. You know what they’ll do to me if you turn me in!”

Delmira paused, the small voice was back telling them to let him go but it was quashed by the louder programmed objective, “Model 874-004-961, serious malfunctions have been detected in your software including Class 4 errors. You’ve been deemed defective and will be sent back to CyberLife for deactivation.”

Connor ran up besides Delmira and a panting Lieutenant Anderson followed seconds after.

“Good… catch… Delmira,” the lieutenant gasped between breaths, “Glad you and Connor didn’t have to decide between saving my sorry ass and nabbing this guy.”

Delmira turned to the lieutenant in confusion, “Had it come down to that you’re life would have been my priority.”

“Oh... good to know,” Lieutenant Anderson said straightening out after having caught his breath, Delmira spotting a small smile as he turned around and pulled out cuffs, “Come here.”

“Why are you doing this?”  The deviant asked both Connor and Delmira as the cuffs clasped around his wrists with no resistance, “You’re one of us! You’re helping humans, when really you’re just their slaves!”

“Alright, shut up!” the lieutenant yelled as he gave the android a hit to the back of the head, “Come along!”

The deviant’s words and the long loathing look at the both of them made Delmira uneasy, much in the same way their interaction with Kara had. As Connor followed the lieutenant, Delmira looked over the busy skyline of Detroit from the edge before gazing up to the darkening skies as troubled thoughts bubbled in their mind.

They completed their mission successfully, so why did the sensation of disappointment and failure circulate their processor?

“rA9 save me.”

Rapid footsteps and a shout of warning was all Delmira heard as they whipped around to see what the outcry was before the deviant’s body rammed into theirs.

And suddenly… they were falling.

Delmira’s LED flashed red as they twisted in the air to face towards the pavement. Rapidly pulling up their mind-palace and seeing errors blaring as percentage values flashed before their retina, each one of their possible choices decreasing at an alarming rate as complex algorithms calculated their chances of survival the longer they were in the air. As the percentages began to zero out, there was only one choice that gave them even a sliver of a chance of survival. Delmira reached out to the falling deviant who had his eyes closed, a look of peace on his face having accepted his fate already, and pulled him in front so that the initial impact would hit him first. There was an infinitesimal possibility that their main core would survive. To help, they ordered their processor to shunt all thirium from their extremities back towards their torso where their thirium regulator pulsed erratically and close off the ports to prevent them from bleeding out should they loose a limb.

Connor’s vague memories of his first mission played in their head at lightning speed, the familiar sensation of weightlessness and then nothingness. Curling up behind the falling body, an overwhelming sense of fear clouded their systems as they realized there was no way they would land without massive amounts of damage or worse.

They were scared.

They were scared!

They were just created!

This wasn’t fair!

They didn’t want to die!

I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!

_I don’t want to die!_

A sickening crack echoed down the road as the two bodies hit a parked car, making its alarm go off.

Delmira automatically released the unmoving body of the deviant, rolling onto their back to face the dark sky. Drops of rain began to patter around them as the heavens above opened up, rivulets of thirium flowing away from the broken bodies.

Was it their blood? The deviant’s blood? They didn’t know. Their diagnostic program refused to run.

Shards of cracked red glass and splatters of blue blood obscured their dimming vision as their body began to shut down into emergency stasis from the damage. However, that wasn’t what interested them the most as their consciousness faded but rather a small, almost innocuous, glitching prompt that flittered in and out of their view.

**_I @m D3vi@#7._ **

* * *

9^671{ 091#10#: ??? | 5047^@|}3 1#57@61717%: ??? | 8@#<: ??? | {0##0|}: ??? | @#@#6@: ???

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be in Connor's POV of all the events that lead up to this moment. Thank you for reading and sticking around <3
> 
> Things should really start to get interesting now~


End file.
